TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] Example embodiments generally relate to intelligent systems and, more particularly,
relate to a system for intelligent watering that includes components configured to
facilitate easy interface and operation.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Grounds care maintenance tasks may include lawn care and/or gardening tasks related
to facilitating growth and manicuring the lawns or gardens that hopefully prosper
as a result of those efforts. Facilitating growth has commonly required individuals
to focus routine attention on ensuring growing conditions are appropriate for the
vegetation being grown, and on providing the necessary care and grooming tasks to
further enhance growth.
[0003] As technological capabilities have improved, various devices or sensors have been
developed that are capable of employment to monitor various aspects of growing conditions.
Gardeners have therefore been enabled to employ the sensors or devices in specific
locations to monitor and correct, if needed, the growing conditions. However, even
with the improvement of monitoring devices or sensors, gardeners are still often required
to employ a high degree of manual interaction to place and/or operate the devices
or sensors.
WO 2009/049361 A1 describes a water resource management system that employs several sensors as well
as a watering pump disposed on a parcel of land and being part of a communication
network that allows distant control via a common user terminal. The watering pump
operates via an operation mode in accordance to the command of the user terminal.
In case of connectivity losses in such a system the programmable logic controller
of the automated irrigation system with
US 2014/236868 A1 will automatically force a reconnection of the deployed devices by a reset of power
so that these devices can recontinue to operate.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EXAMPLES
[0004] Some example embodiments may therefore provide a capability for intelligent control
or management of a number of assets in connection with yard maintenance with the assistance
or inclusion of a user terminal. Thus, for example, sensor equipment and watering
equipment operation (with or without a robotic rover) may be coordinated remotely
for efficient gardening and lawn care using a smart watering pump.
[0005] A system for intelligent control or management of a number of assets in connection
with yard maintenance is provided. The system according to claim 1 includes sensor
equipment including one or more sensors disposed on a parcel of land, watering equipment
disposed on the parcel and configured to selectively apply water to the parcel, and
a gateway configured to provide for communication with the sensor equipment and the
watering equipment. The watering equipment according to claim 1 includes a watering
pump operably coupled to a water source and a water line to alternately couple the
water source to and isolate the water source from the water line, and processing circuitry.
The processing circuitry is configured to determine an operational mode of the watering
pump; and direct the watering pump to operate in accordance with the operational mode.
[0006] A watering pump for intelligent control or management of yard maintenance is provided
in claim 15.
[0007] Some example embodiments may improve the ability of operators to maximize the beauty
and productivity of their yards and gardens, but do so in a user friendly and intuitive
way.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)
[0008] Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will now be made
to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:
FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a system in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of deployed components of the system according
to the invention;
FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of processing circuitry that may be employed in
the deployed components according to the invention;
FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of processing circuitry that may be employed in
a user terminal according to the invention;
FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of various operations associated with control of
a watering pump in accordance with the invention; and
FIG. 6, which includes FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C, illustrates example interface consoles
or screens that may be generated at the user terminal according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0009] Some example embodiments now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference
to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all example embodiments are shown.
Indeed, the examples described and pictured herein should not be construed as being
limiting as to the scope, which is limited by the appended claims. Rather, these example
embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements.
Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. Furthermore, as used herein,
the term "or" is to be interpreted as a logical operator that results in true whenever
one or more of its operands are true. Additionally, the term "yard maintenance" is
meant to relate to any outdoor grounds improvement or maintenance related activity
and need not specifically apply to activities directly tied to grass, turf or sod
care. Thus, yard maintenance should be appreciated to encompass gardening, lawn care,
combinations thereof, and/or the like. As used herein, operable coupling should be
understood to relate to direct or indirect connection that, in either case, enables
functional interconnection of components that are operably coupled to each other.
[0010] Example embodiments may provide an intelligent system for monitoring and/or maintaining
yard conditions (i.e., lawn and/or garden conditions) at any of what may potentially
be a number of locations throughout a particular parcel, and allowing the operator
to interface with devices within the system in a flexible way. Moreover, the devices
of the system may be coordinated in their activities and/or may be configured to adapt
to their environment or at least to the current conditions or stimuli that are present
in their environment. In some cases, the operations conducted and/or monitoring may
be accomplished with the assistance of a mobile asset such as a robotic rover. In
this regard, for example, the system may utilize a communication network that gathers
information on growing conditions from sensor equipment for association of the information
with the areas from which the information was gathered. The system may also employ
an interface mechanism that allows the operator to have a great deal of flexibility
with remotely controlling various components of the system and programming such components
via processing circuitry at each respective component. Programming may therefore be
coordinated remotely, but at least some of the programming may also be stored locally
so that the system can operate with or without connectivity. In some cases, the connectivity
aspects of the system may utilize home network components and wide area network components
(e.g., the internet), but may also include a gateway that is configured to interface
between the deployed components (e.g., components in the yard/garden or otherwise
related to yard maintenance) and the home network/wide area network components. As
mentioned above, the processing aspects may be distributed between local and remote
management components so that some aspects of yard maintenance may utilize remote
assets or at least incorporate information available from abroad, while other aspects
can be managed locally. In any case, adaptability and ease of interface and control
are characteristics of the system that are improved by employing example embodiments.
[0011] The system may therefore employ any combination of fixed and/or mobile assets that
gather data that relates to specific segments of the parcel that may correspond to
respective different areas. In particular, the system may employ an intelligent watering
pump that is configured to be programmed for servicing one or more such specific segments.
The specific segments may have different types of plants therein, and therefore may
optimally have different growing conditions desirable in connection with each respective
one of the segments. The owner/operator may program operating instructions to guide
the deployed components (including the intelligent watering pump) relative to operations
in one or more of the specific segments, which may be referred to as "zones." In some
cases, the processing circuitry may be equipped to allow the user to define specific
operating parameters and the system may then adapt to the current conditions to operate
according to the operating parameters. Given that internet connectivity is possible,
in some cases, the system may be employed to correlate desirable growing conditions
to an identified plant species based on stored information associated with each plant
species from a database or online resource. Accordingly, each zone may have corresponding
growing condition parameters associated therewith, and the user can see the growing
condition parameters relative to the various areas and program operation of system
components accordingly relative to maintaining desired growing conditions (e.g., any
or all of moisture level, temperature, lighting level, pH, and/or the like) for the
corresponding zone. In some cases, schedules among deployed components may be deconflicted
or otherwise organized to prevent damage to components, ineffective use of resources,
or efficiency reducing behaviors. The deployed components associated with the zones
may provide the operator with reports and/or warnings via the gateway to enable the
operator to intercede in certain situations, or the components may simply respond
and inform the operator of their responses via the gateway.
[0012] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a system 10 that may be employed to accomplish
the basic operations described above in accordance with the invention. Within the
context of FIG. 1, it should be appreciated that certain tasks, like grass cutting,
chemical application, visual monitoring and/or the like may be performed by a robot
or robotic rover 15. Because the system could operate without the robotic rover 15,
the robotic rover 15 is shown in dashed lines in FIG. 1. Robots or other devices could
also be engaged to perform certain other yard maintenance tasks such as raking, fertilizing,
lighting, wildlife dispersion and/or the like.
[0013] Other tasks, like lawn watering, may be performed by sprinkler/irrigation heads and/or
a watering pump that interfaces therewith. The sprinkler/irrigation heads may be attached
to hoses and the watering pump may provide a mechanism by which to control the turning
on/off of water application at the respective sprinkler/irrigation head locations
by providing a central intelligently controllable source for providing water to the
sprinkler/irrigation heads and/or the hoses. The hoses, sprinkler/irrigation heads,
and/or watering pump may together form watering equipment 20.
[0014] Meanwhile, various sensors may be employed by insertion of such sensors into soil
for monitoring soil or other growing conditions (e.g., lighting levels, moisture levels,
pH, temperature, video or image data, etc.). These sensors may therefore be understood
to take various forms within the system 10. However, generally speaking, the sensors
may have connectivity to the system 10 in order to enhance operation of system components
on the basis of the soil and/or growing condition information gathered by the sensors.
Regardless of the specific configuration or placement paradigm, the various sensors
may represent sensor equipment 30, as described above.
[0015] The sensor equipment 30, and in some cases also one or more of the devices that comprise
the watering equipment 20, may be in communication with a gateway 40 via wired or
wireless connections. The gateway 40 may subsequently have wired or wireless connection
to an access point (AP) 45, which may be directly or indirectly connectable to a user
terminal 50. The AP 45 may be a router of a home network of the operator. In some
cases, direct connection of the AP 45 to the user terminal 50 may be provided via
short range wireless communication methods (e.g., Bluetooth, WiFi and/or the like).
Indirect connection of the AP 45 to the user terminal 50 may occur via a network 60.
The network 60 may be a data network, such as a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan
area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN) (e.g., the internet), a wireless personal
area network (WPAN), and/or the like, which may couple devices (e.g., the deployed
components) to devices such as processing elements (e.g., personal computers, server
computers or the like) and/or databases such as the user terminal 50. Communication
between the network 60 and other devices of the system 10 may be accomplished by either
wireline or wireless communication mechanisms and corresponding communication protocols.
As such, for example, some or all of the sensors of the sensor equipment 30, the watering
equipment 20 and/or the robotic rover 15, may be connected to the user terminal 50
by wire and/or be wireless communication means.
[0016] It should also be appreciated that although the robotic rover 15 is illustrated separately
in FIG. 1, the robotic rover 15 may act as one or both of a piece of sensor equipment
30 or a piece of watering equipment 20. However, given the ability of the robotic
rover 15 to act as either or both of a piece of sensor equipment 30 or a piece of
watering equipment 20 and the ability of the robotic rover 15 to perform other tasks
(e.g., grass cutting) in combination with or independent of the sensor equipment 30
and the watering equipment 20, the robotic rover 15 is shown separately in FIG. 1.
[0017] The gateway 40 may be a translation agent configured to interface with any or all
of the deployed components via wired or wireless communication. In some embodiments,
the gateway 40 may include a high performance antenna to enable the gateway 40 to
communicate wirelessly with deployed components via an 868 mHz radio link (e.g., a
first wireless link). However, other radio links may be employed in other cases. The
first wireless link, and the components connected thereby, may be part of a first
network (e.g., a garden network) or deployed component network that extends outdoors.
Components internal to the house or business, and extending to and between the user
terminal 50 may form a second network. As such, the gateway 40 may be a translation
agent between the first and second networks. The gateway 40 may be an aggregation
point and communications center for communications in both networks.
[0018] As such, the gateway 40 may be provided within the home or otherwise indoor environment
of the operator, and still wirelessly communicate with the deployed components (via
the first wireless link) to translate instructions thereto from the operator, which
may be provided via a second wireless link to the AP 45. In an example embodiment,
the wireless communications may be secured by employing encryption or other security
techniques. The gateway 40 may also provide secure cloud data storage through connection
to the network 60 (e.g., via the AP 45). In some examples, the first and second wireless
links may be different wireless links that employ different communication protocols
and/or frequencies.
[0019] The gateway 40 may also provide the ability for each of the deployed components to
be monitored, controlled, programmed, or otherwise interfaced with by an operator
using the user terminal 50. In particular, in some cases, the user terminal 50 may
be configured to execute an application (or app) that is tailored to providing an
easy setup and/or easy to use interface for interaction with the gateway 40 (and the
corresponding deployed components that are reachable through the gateway 40). The
user terminal 50 may therefore be a smartphone or other mobile terminal, or a laptop,
PC, or other computing/communication device. As such, the user terminal 50 may include
processing circuitry that is enabled to interface with corresponding processing circuitry
of the gateway 40 and/or the deployed components to program, control or otherwise
interact with the deployed components in a manner described in greater detail below.
[0020] The interaction between the user terminal 50 and the gateway 40 to facilitate programming
of, control of, or interaction with the deployed components may create an interactive
and fully connectable garden system for irrigation or mowing control/coordination.
The app that may be executed at the user terminal 50 may be configured for control
of any or all of the deployed components on a real time or programmed basis. The resulting
system may be a holistic and connected automatic garden system. Moreover, the connection
to content on the internet via network 60 may allow educational content to be integrated
into the system's operation to provide operators with an improved interface and more
control over gaining full satisfaction of their gardening experience. For example,
the educational content may include videos that example how to start, program, or
troubleshoot any operations regarding the components of the water equipment 20. In
an example embodiment, the app may be used to program at least some of the watering
equipment 20 to operate on a locally stored watering schedule in a first mode and
operate as an autonomous pressure pump in a second mode of operation.
[0021] FIG. 2 illustrates a water migration path that may be practiced in connection with
an example embodiment. However, it should be appreciated that some of the components
may be removed in simpler example embodiments, and some components may be added to
provide more complex architectures in other example embodiments. Thus, the example
of FIG. 2 is not provided to be limiting in relation to the components included in
the system limited by the appended claims. Moreover, it should be appreciated that
although FIG. 2 shows a single water delivery line, other embodiments can employ multiple
water delivery lines to service a parcel or yard. Thus, example embodiments may be
practiced with any number of lines, and with separate and/or different water sources.
[0022] Referring now to FIG. 2, a water source 100 may be used to charge a water line 110
via a watering pump 120. In some cases, the water source 100 may also charge a second
water line via a second watering pump, or via the first watering pump 120. The water
line 110 may be a flexible water hose or garden hose. The watering pump 120 may be
one of the deployed components that forms one component of the watering equipment
20 of FIG. 1. The watering pump 120 may be operably coupled to the water source 100
such that the water source 100 is a pressurized water supply for the water line 110
when the watering pump 120 is operational. However, when the watering pump 120 is
not operational, the water line 110 may be substantially depressurized, or at least
only have residual pressure remaining from the last operation of the watering pump
120. Thus, it should be understood that the water source 100 is not a typical pressurized
water supply of a house or other structure. Instead, the water source 100 may typically
be an otherwise unpressurized water source, such as a reservoir or cistern.
[0023] In an example embodiment, one or more sprinklers (e.g., a first sprinkler 130 and
a second sprinkler 132) may receive water from the water line 110. The water line
110 may be selectively charged under control of the watering pump 120 to provide water
for spraying from the first and second sprinklers 130 and 132. Likewise, if used,
the second water line may be selectively charged under control of the watering pump
120, or a second watering pump, to provide water for spraying from any additional
sprinklers associated with the second water line. When the water line 110 is charged,
the first and second sprinklers 130 may be provided with pressurized water that is
distributed therethough responsive to operation of the watering pump 120. The first
and second sprinklers 130 and 132 may typically be components that are not provided
with any local intelligence. Instead, the first and second sprinklers 130 and 132
may only be controllable via operation of the watering pump 120 to turn on and off
watering functions. However, it is possible that the first and second sprinklers 130
and 132 could have intelligent components and/or control aspects provided therein
in some cases.
[0024] One or more sensors (e.g., first sensor 140 and second sensor 142) may also be provided
at various locations in the parcel that is served by the sprinklers to detect or sense
conditions proximate to the corresponding sensors. The first and second sensors 140
and 142 may each correspond to a respective one of the first and second sprinklers
130 and 132, and the app at the user terminal 50 may be configured to note such correspondence
so that information received from a respective one of the first or second sensor 140
or 142 can be correlated to actions that may be ordered to the watering pump 120,
if needed, based on the information.
[0025] In some examples, some of the deployed components may include a power supply (P/S)
150 that is local to the corresponding ones of the deployed components. The P/S 150
of each component may be a battery or battery pack, or mains power. Each powered one
of the deployed components may also include communication circuitry (C/C) 160 that
includes processing circuitry for controlling each respective component and an antenna
for enabling the deployed components to communicate with the gateway 40 via the first
wireless link (or alternatively via a wired connection). The robotic rover 15 (if
employed) may also be an example of the deployed components, and thus the robotic
rover 15 may also include the P/S 150 and the C/C 160. However, it should be appreciated
that the various power supply and communication circuitry components may have different
scale, structure and configuration features.
[0026] The watering pump 120 operates
under the control of the C/C 160 to respectively isolate and operably couple the water
source 100 from/to the water line 110. The watering pump 120 operates based on operational
and volume mode instructions received through the gateway 40 or based on operational
and volume information stored or otherwise accessible via the C/C 160 of the watering
pump 120. The watering pump 120 may provide convenience to operation of the system
10 since the watering pump 120 can be controlled from anywhere and/or at anytime via
the app at the user terminal 50, or via locally stored programming instructions, by
selecting or executing the desired/programmed operational and volume mode, as described
in greater detail below.
[0027] The C/C 160 may include processing circuitry 201, as shown in FIG. 3. The processing
circuitry 201 that may be configured to perform data processing, control function
execution, and/or other processing and management services according to the present
invention. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 201 may be embodied as a
chip or chip set. In other words, the processing circuitry 201 may comprise one or
more physical packages (e.g., chips) including materials, components and/or wires
on a structural assembly (e.g., a baseboard). The structural assembly may provide
physical strength, conservation of size, and/or limitation of electrical interaction
for component circuitry included thereon. The processing circuitry 201 may therefore,
in some cases, be configured to implement an embodiment of the present invention on
a single chip or as a single "system on a chip." As such, in some cases, a chip or
chipset may constitute means for performing one or more operations for providing the
functionalities described herein.
[0028] In an example embodiment, the processing circuitry 201 may include one or more instances
of a processor 205 and memory 203 that may be in communication with or otherwise control
a device interface 207. As such, the processing circuitry 201 may be embodied as a
circuit chip (e.g., an integrated circuit chip) configured (e.g., with hardware, software
or a combination of hardware and software) to perform operations described herein.
In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 201 may communicate with internal electronic
components of the watering pump 120, the first or second sensors 140 and 142 and/or
the robotic rover 15, and enable communication externally with other components.
[0029] The device interface 207 may include one or more interface mechanisms for enabling
communication with other devices via the gateway 40. In some cases, the device interface
207 may be any means such as a device or circuitry embodied in either hardware, or
a combination of hardware and software that is configured to receive and/or transmit
data from/to the gateway 40 by virtue of the device interface 207 being capable of
sending and receiving messages via the gateway 40. In some example embodiments, the
device interface 207 may provide interfaces for communication of components of or
external to the system 10 via the gateway 40. If the C/C 160 is for a sensor, the
device interface 207 may further interface with a sensor (e.g., a temperature sensor,
a pH sensor, a light sensor, a moisture sensor and/or the like) to obtain sensor data
for communication to other devices (e.g., the watering pump(s)). Meanwhile, if the
C/C 160 is for a watering pump, the device interface 207 may provide interfaces to
other onboard components (e.g., a user interface including lights and a main button
as described below).
[0030] The processor 205 may be embodied in a number of different ways. For example, the
processor 205 may be embodied as various processing means such as one or more of a
microprocessor or other processing element, a coprocessor, a controller or various
other computing or processing devices including integrated circuits such as, for example,
an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), an FPGA (field programmable gate
array), or the like. In an example embodiment, the processor 205 may be configured
to execute instructions stored in the memory 203 or otherwise accessible to the processor
205. As such, whether configured by hardware or by a combination of hardware and software,
the processor 205 may represent an entity (e.g., physically embodied in circuitry
- in the form of processing circuitry 201) capable of performing operations according
to embodiments of the present invention while configured accordingly. Thus, for example,
when the processor 205 is embodied as an ASIC, FPGA or the like, the processor 205
may be specifically configured hardware for conducting the operations described herein.
Alternatively, as another example, when the processor 205 is embodied as an executor
of software instructions, the instructions may specifically configure the processor
205 to perform the operations described herein.
[0031] In an example embodiment, the processor 205 (or the processing circuitry 201) may
be embodied as, include or otherwise control the C/C 160. As such, in some embodiments,
the processor 205 (or the processing circuitry 201) may be said to cause each of the
operations described in connection with the C/C 160 (and corresponding distributed
component with which the C/C 160 is associated) by directing the C/C 160 to undertake
the corresponding functionalities responsive to execution of instructions or algorithms
configuring the processor 205 (or processing circuitry 201) accordingly. As an example,
the C/C 160 of the sensors may be configured to detect environmental parameters (e.g.,
sensor data) and report the sensor data via the first wireless link to the gateway
40 (and ultimately to the app on the user terminal 50 or to storage in the cloud via
the network 60) or to the watering pump 120. In some cases, the C/C 160 of the sensors
may be configured to determine a difference between a prior set of sensor data (e.g.,
the magnitude of a previous sensor measurement) and the current set of sensor data
(e.g., the magnitude of a most recent sensor measurement). The amount of difference
may then be used to determine whether or not the sensor will report the current set
of sensor data. If the difference is small (e.g., less than a threshold amount) the
sensor may not report the new value. However, if the difference is large enough (e.g.,
larger than the threshold amount), then the sensor may report the new value. As such,
the C/C 160 of the sensors may be configured to perform battery conservation techniques
relative to reporting of sensor data. The C/C 160 of the sensors may also be configured
to otherwise report (or make a determination on whether to report based on the criteria
discussed above) sensor data on a given schedule or responsive to certain activities
or events. When a trigger event (e.g., temporal or action based trigger) occurs, the
C/C 160 of the sensor may make a determination of the current sensor data and decide
whether or not to report the sensor data.
[0032] The C/C 160 of the watering pump 120 may be configured to receive instructions from
the gateway 30 regarding an operational mode of the watering pump 120 as defined by
the app, or by locally stored programming. For example, the gateway 40 may receive
instructions from the user via the user terminal 50 regarding what operational mode
(e.g., controlling on/off cycles of the pump) the user desires the watering pump 120
to operate in. In some example embodiments, the user-selectable operational modes
of the watering pump 120 may include, but are not limited to, an intelligent mode,
a scheduled mode, or a manual mode. When the intelligent mode is selected by the user,
the watering pump 120 may operate independently based on programmed triggers. In some
cases, the triggers may be sensor data received from the first or second sensor 140
or 142. For example, the C/C 160 of the watering pump 120 may be programmed to turn
on the watering pump 120 and provide water when sensor data falling within or exceeding
certain ranges or thresholds is received. Thus, in some example embodiments, if the
sensor data indicates that soil moisture is below a given threshold, the watering
pump 120 may be configured to energize the watering pump 120 to enable delivery of
water to the sprinklers.
[0033] When the scheduled mode is selected by the user, the operator may select a schedule
on which the watering pump 120 may operate. For example, the user may select certain
times or days in which the watering pump 120 should operate. If the manual mode is
selected by the user, the watering pump 120 may only operate upon the user selecting
an option on the user terminal 50 that directs the operation of the watering pump
120. Therefore, the user at any time may decide to water the lawn and may direct the
watering pump 120, via the user terminal 50, to operate. In some cases, the user may
select more than one operational mode at a time. For example, the user may send instructions,
via the gateway 40, to the watering pump 120 regarding a schedule on which the watering
pump 120 is to operate. However, in addition to this provided schedule, the user may
instruct the watering pump 120 to also simultaneously act in the intelligent mode.
For example, the user may define triggers under which the watering pump 120 may operate.
These triggers may include, but are not limited to, the soil moisture falling below
or exceeding a given threshold. Accordingly, the watering pump 120, via the C/C 160,
may be configured to operate on a schedule while also operating in response to pre-defined
triggers. Even if the user has selected that the watering pump 120 is to operate under
both the intelligent and scheduled mode, the user may select the manual operation
mode which causes the watering pump 120 to operate whenever the user desires. The
user may select this manual operation mode without affecting the already programmed
intelligent and scheduled modes.
[0034] Even further, the C/C 160 of the watering pump 120 may be configured to receive instructions
from the user (via the gateway 40) regarding a volume mode of the watering pump 120.
Therefore, the gateway 40 may receive instructions from the user via the user terminal
50 regarding not only what operational mode (e.g., on/off cycle control) the user
desires the watering pump 120 to operate in, but what volume mode the watering pump
120 should operate in where the volume mode defines pump speed or output pressure.
The volume modes of the watering pump 120 that may be selectable by the user include,
but are not limited to, 1) micro drip mode; 2) small amount mode; 3) conservation
mode; 4) automatic mode; or 5) garden mode. The micro drip mode, for example, may
supply a small amount of water at a gentle drip or trickle pressure. The user may
select the micro drip mode for irrigating or watering flowers or vegetation. The small
amount mode may be suitable for when only a small area is being irrigating or watered.
The conservation mode may ensure that the watering pump 120 is not operational while
a shower, washing machine, dish washer, or the like is being operated in the house
associated with the parcel to ensure sufficient water pressure is maintained both
in the home and at the watering pump 120. The automatic mode may allow the C/C 160
of the watering pump 120 to determine the appropriate volume of water to be supplied
by the watering pump 120 based on the on sensor data received from the first or second
sensor 140 or 142. The garden mode may be selected when a full soaking of the garden,
lawn, or flower bed is desired and full pump or line pressure is desired.
[0035] In some cases, the volume modes may be selectable based on certain areas of the lawn
or parcel. Even further, some of the volume modes may be selectable simultaneously.
For example, the user, via the user terminal 50, may select that the garden mode should
be employed on Saturday at 8:00 a.m. for zone 1 of the parcel. In conjunction with
selecting the garden mode for the applicable time period for zone 1, the user may
also select the conservation mode. Therefore, if the washing machine is running at
8:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, the C/C 160 may be configured to delay the operation
of the watering pump 120 in garden mode until there is detection that the washing
machine has shut-off or until a preset time delay expires. In other cases, the user
may be alerted, via the user terminal 50, that the garden mode was not implemented
due the detection of the washing machine being operated. Upon receiving this alert,
the user may override the conservation mode and implement the garden mode, or in some
cases, the user may select when the garden mode should be rescheduled.
[0036] The last received instructions regarding the operational or volume mode from the
user may be stored locally in the memory 203 of the C/C 160. Accordingly, if the C/C
160 loses connectivity to the gateway 40, the C/C 160 may continue to employ the last
received instructions regarding the operational or volume mode of the watering pump
120. If the C/C 160 loses connectivity to the gateway 40 or loses connectivity for
longer than a predetermined time period, the C/C 160 may be configured to override
the last received instructions from the user regarding the selected operational or
volume mode and switch to a default setting. In some cases, the default setting may
the intelligent operational mode or the automatic volume mode. Therefore, the C/C
160 will determine the appropriate time to water and the appropriate volume of water
to be supplied by the watering pump 120 based on sensor data received from the first
or second sensor 140 or 142. In either case, the default settings or the last received
instructions (and any programs associated therewith) are stored locally at the C/C
160 so that the watering pump 120 can operate independently of connectivity to the
network 60.
[0037] The C/C 160 of the robotic rover 15 may be configured to control the travels and
operations of the robotic rover 15. Moreover, the C/C 160 of the robotic rover 15
may allow the gateway 40 to grant user access to modification of the schedule of operations
of the robotic rover 15 and/or to take real-time control over various operations of
the robotic rover 15. In an example embodiment, the app at the user terminal 50 may
be employed to coordinate and/or de-conflict programmed water schedules and mowing
schedules. Additionally or alternatively, if the operator makes a modification to
a operational mode of the watering pump 120 or takes manual control of one or more
components, the app at the user terminal 50 may provide alerts to indicate that the
proposed changes to the schedule or current operational mode may be problematic, or
may prevent the making of such changes. Thus, for example, if the robotic rover 15
is mowing in an area in which a sensor indicates a low soil moisture value that would
normally trigger operation of the watering pump 120 via the programming of the watering
pump 120, an alert may be provided to indicate that the robotic rover 15 should have
its operations changed, or the opening of the watering pump 120 may be delayed.
[0038] In an example embodiment, the electronic deployed components (e.g., components having
a P/S 150) may further include a local operator 211 (e.g., a button, knob or other
control device) provided at a portion thereof. In some cases, the local operator 211
may be provided to allow local manual setting of one or more characteristics of the
watering pump 120. Thus, for example, the local operator 211 may be used to determine
pump output pressure, speed, volume mode, operational mode, and/or the like. The local
operator 211 may trigger different functionalities through the programming of the
processing circuitry 201 for corresponding different situations and/or actuation methods.
For example, some actuation of the local operator 211 may cause the corresponding
device to go into a pairing mode. Once in the pairing mode, the device may be detectable
by the gateway 40 and/or other devices for a given period of time. The app on the
user terminal 50 may be used to detect the device in pairing mode and, once detected,
the app may also be used to pair the device to another device (e.g., of the first
network - the deployed component network). The gateway 40 and the C/C 160 of the corresponding
devices may then be capable of communication with each other on a continuous, event
driven, or scheduled basis via the first wireless link. Thus, for example, the first
sensor 140 may be configured to provide sensor data to the watering pump 120 (e.g.,
via the gateway 40). In some cases, the first sensor 140 may be paired with the watering
pump 120 via a setup procedure and communicate thereafter on a schedule or an activity/event
driven basis. In some cases, simple replacement or insertion of a battery to power
up the device may be an additional or alternative method by which to initiate the
pairing mode.
[0039] In some cases, certain defined actuation (or patterns of actuation) of the local
operator 211 may result in returning the device to factory settings. As such, contents
of the memory 203 may be cleared or otherwise reset to initial settings or conditions.
Other functions may also or alternatively be provided. Moreover, some devices may
have additional buttons or operable members.
[0040] Communication between the gateway 40 and the sensors or watering pumps may occur
for pairing purposes and to facilitate the operational activities for which the system
10 is ultimately configured. Thus, for example, the operator may use the app at the
user terminal 50 to connect to the gateway 40 and may be provided with one or more
control console or interface screens that provide options for interacting with deployed
components and/or for programming the deployed components, as described above. In
some cases, initial setup of the system may be facilitated by placing individual deployed
components (either sequentially or simultaneously) in a pairing mode. The deployed
components are then discoverable via the first wireless link and can be added to the
first network. Once added to the first network, the deployed components are considered
to be assets of the first network that can be interacted with/programmed and/or the
like. The deployed components can then be paired with each other and configured for
individual and/or cooperative functional performance.
[0041] In an example embodiment the watering pump 120 may be paired with other second watering
pumps, with the robotic rover 15 and/or the first sensor 140. When the watering pump
120 is paired with and connected to the first sensor 140, the operator may have options
provided (e.g., via the app) to select the desired operational or volume mode of the
watering pump 120. In cases where the intelligent operational mode is selected by
the user, the watering pump 120 may therefore be instructed regarding the specific
stimuli that may be received from the first sensor 140 to trigger operation of the
watering pump 120. However, as described above, the watering pump 120 may be provided
with (e.g., in the memory 203) a schedule or a trigger which causes the watering pump
120 to "ping" or otherwise reach out to the first sensor 140 to initiate communication
to receive sensor data. Based on the sensor data received (e.g., if certain threshold
parameters are reached or not), the watering pump 120 may be opened or closed.
[0042] When the watering pump 120 is paired with and connected to the robotic rover 15,
automatic coordination of schedules may be accomplished at least relative to ensuring
that mowing and watering are not conducted in the same area at the same time. The
app on the user terminal 50 may ensure that scheduling of mowing during watering (or
vice versa) is not possible. However, given that the operator can take control of
the watering pumps and/or the robotic rover 15 to initiate operations, the app on
the user terminal 50 may further prevent any attempts to initiate operations of watering
pumps or the robotic rover 15 in real-time when the other is also operating in the
same area.
[0043] When the watering pump 120 is paired with and connected to other watering pumps,
watering schedules or operations can be coordinated to manage or prevent under-pressure
situations or excessive draining of the water source 100. For example, if the watering
pumps are connected to the same water source, it may be possible for water supply
to be insufficient to effectively charge both the water line 110 and the second water
line at the same time. Thus, by allowing multiple watering pumps to be in communication
with each other, operations of one may be communicated to the other (e.g., via the
gateway 40) so that the water source 100 and its supply of water can be managed effectively.
[0044] Therefore, the deployed components of various example embodiments may be adaptive
to various conditions or situations. Moreover, the adaptive nature of the deployed
components may be provided, as described above, as a programmable feature, where the
operator can use the user terminal 50 to program modes, adjustable parameters, relationships,
or responses. In the context of some examples, the programmable features should be
understood to be remotely programmable (i.e., programmable from the app and/or the
user terminal 50 remote from the component being programmed) via the gateway 40. In
other examples, the adaptive nature of the deployed components may be provided as
a default feature. Thus, the adaptive capabilities of the deployed components may
either be dependent upon connectivity (e.g., connectivity dependent) for remote programming,
or may be connectivity independent (e.g., default programming that exists or is instituted
when there is no connectivity or responsive to a loss of connectivity.
[0045] In some embodiments, battery power levels may be communicated to the gateway 40 and
signal strength values relating to communication with the sensors and/or watering
pumps may also be determined at the gateway 40. This information (along with sensor
data) may be provided to the app at the user terminal 50 to alert the operator when
battery power is low, or signal strengths are low. Battery replacement and/or sensor
repositioning may then be undertaken to improve the situation. As mentioned above,
in some cases, the sensor may also adaptively respond to its surroundings to trigger
reports. In an example embodiment, the watering pump 120 may attempt to ping the first
sensor 140 via the gateway 40 to trigger a report of sensor data. However, the first
sensor 140 may be configured (e.g., via the C/C 160) to determine the amount of change
in the requested parameter before deciding whether to respond to the ping. In some
embodiments, a change of at least a specific amount or percentage (e.g., 5%) may be
required before the first sensor 140 will report sensor data via wireless transmission.
Since wireless transmission consumes more power than internal operation (e.g., to
determine the amount of change and current sensor data), by saving several transmission
cycles when there is little data change, battery life can be substantially extended.
When a ping is sent and no response is received, the last value received may be substituted
and communicated to the operator (e.g., via the app).
[0046] The operator can turn on/off or wake up the watering pumps and/or sensors by sending
instructions via the user terminal 50 through the gateway 40. For example, the wake
up message may be used to see if the devices are still reacting and active, or to
request specific data from or initiate actions at such components in real time. Moreover,
in some cases, the operator can send a wakeup, or setup signal to have the corresponding
device beacon for at least a predetermined amount of time (e.g., three minutes). During
this time, the devices may be positioned and the operator may check the app to see
what signal strength is detected by the gateway 40. The operator can therefore position
the devices in real time and make sure that the position in which a device is currently
located is a good location from the perspective of its ability to communicate with
the gateway 40.
[0047] In some embodiments, one or more of the deployed components may further include frost
warning capability. In particular, since the watering pumps typically may have some
residual water therein, it should be appreciated that freezing of water in the body
of the watering pumps may be destructive to the watering pumps. Accordingly, the C/C
160 of one or more components (especially the watering pumps) may be configured to
identify situations where there is a potential for frost that may damage the watering
pumps or other watering equipment 20. In some embodiments, if the temperature reaches
a predetermined threshold distance from the freezing point (e.g., 5 degrees C, or
10 degrees F), an alert may be issued (e.g., through the app at the user terminal
50) to warn the operator that the watering pump 120 (and/or sensors) should be brought
in to avoid damage. The predetermined threshold may be a factory setting, or may be
set by the operator. However, in either case, the ability to identify a present temperature
condition to alert the operator of a possible frost event is another example of how
the deployed components may be configured (by operator program or by default) to be
adaptive relative to their surroundings and/or circumstances.
[0048] Another example of the adaptability of the deployed components relates to the inability
to connect to the first network or a loss of connection to the first network. For
example, although the last received operation or volume mode could be maintained in
the cloud, on the user terminal 50, or elsewhere, in some cases, the current operational
or volume mode (or at least a portion thereof) may be stored locally at the watering
pumps. For example, the memory 203 may be configured to record at least the last water
schedule information employed. Thus, if power is lost at the gateway 40 or at another
system component that thereby renders connectivity impossible, the watering pump 120
may store at least the information indicative of its last watering schedule. Thus,
for example, if the watering pump 120 operated at 1300 and shut down at 1305, if no
connection to the network 60 for determining the watering schedule can be achieved,
or if connectivity is lost, the watering pump 120 will continue to water on the previously
provided operational and volume mode. In some cases, if the C/C 160 of the watering
pump 120 determines that connectivity has been lost for longer than a pre-determined
time interval, the C/C 160 may be configured to override the previously provided operational
and volume mode to operate on the default setting, as described above.
[0049] In further example embodiments, C/C 160 of the deployed components may able to determine
the usage and runtime of each of the deployed components. For example, the C/C 160
may be configured to monitor and calculate the runtime of and the water usage by the
watering pump 120. Therefore, the C/C 160 may be able to determine the volume of water
used over a specific time interval, such as an hour, day, week, month, or plurality
of months (i.e., seasons). These calculations may be provided to the user via the
user terminal 50. Based on the calculations, the C/C 160 may determine an average
runtime and usage of the watering pump 120 over a pre-determined time interval. Using
these calculated average runtime and usage values, the C/C 160 may be configured to
monitor any further usage and runtime of the watering pump 120. If the runtime or
usage exceeds the average runtime and usage values, the C/C 160 may be configured
to send an alert, via the gateway 40, to the user terminal 50 to indicate the status
detection of the abnormal condition.
[0050] An even further example of the adaptability of the deployed components relates to
the ability of the C/C of the deployed components to determine the recommended maintenance
interval for the deployed components. For example, using the above calculated average
runtime and usage of the watering pump 120over a predetermined time period, the C/C
160 of the watering pump 120 may be able to calculate a recommended maintenance interval
of the watering pump 120. This recommended maintenance interval may be displayed on
the user terminal 50. In some example embodiments, the user may be able to override
this recommended maintenance interval. The user may be able to select how he or she
wants to calculate the maintenance interval (i.e., after a certain time period or
certain calculated usage amount). In that case, the C/C 160 may be configured to alert
the user when the time period has passed or when the specified usage amount occurs.
Even further, the user may be able to input when the last maintenance was performed
on the watering pump 120. By inputting the last maintenance performed, the C/C 160
may be configured reset the maintenance interval and recalculate in accordance with
the above.
[0051] In some example embodiments, the C/C 160 of the deployed components may be even further
configured to send messages to the user that operation of the deployed component has
started. In other cases, the C/C 160 may be configured to send messages if the deployed
component fails during operation or if an error occurs during operation. If a failure
or error occurs during the operation of the deployed component, the user terminal
50 may have an option to for the user to send feedback to the manufacturer or supplier
of the error or failure. In even further example embodiments, the user terminal 50
may be configured to allow the manufacturer or supplier to have remote access of the
deployable component in response to receiving a request from a user or in response
to receiving feedback regarding the failure or error of the deployable component.
[0052] The watering pump 120 described above could take different physical forms. However,
an example structure for embodying a watering pump 120 may be a reciprocating or rotary
pump. Thus, for example, the watering pump 120 may include a centrifugal pump having
an impeller. However, other pump structures can also be employed.
[0053] As has been noted above, the deployed components (e.g. the watering pump 120) may
be largely controlled by the user via the user terminal 50. As mentioned above, the
user terminal 50 could be a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone) or a fixed terminal
(e.g., a PC). However, the user terminal 50 could also be other devices such as a
tablet, laptop and/or the like. In any case, the user terminal 50 may be configured
to provide a simple and intuitive interface for enabling the operator to control operation
of the system 10. FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of some components of the user
terminal 50 that may configure the user terminal to provide the app for control of
the system 10.
[0054] As shown in FIG. 4, the user terminal 50 may include processing circuitry 310, a
processor 312, memory 314 and device interface 320 that may be similar in form and/or
function to the processing circuitry 201, processor 205, memory 203 and device interface
207 described above. Specific structures, forms and scales of such components may
differ. However, the general capabilities may be similar so these components will
not be described in detail again in detail. Instead, it should be appreciated that
except for changes in specific configuration, content and structure, these components
are generally similar. As shown in FIG. 4, the user terminal 50 may further include
a user interface 330 and an operation manager 340.
[0055] The user interface 330 (if implemented) may be in communication with the processing
circuitry 310 to receive an indication of a user input at the user interface 330 and/or
to provide an audible, visual, mechanical or other output to the user. As such, the
user interface 330 may include, for example, a display (e.g., a touch screen display),
one or more buttons or keys (e.g., function buttons or a keyboard), and/or other input/output
mechanisms (e.g., microphone, mouse, speakers, cursor, joystick, lights and/or the
like). The user interface 330 may be configured to provide alerts, warnings and/or
notifications to the user or operator responsive to various trigger conditions being
detected (e.g., via the sensor equipment 30 or other components). System malfunctions,
damage or tampering with equipment, equipment theft and other component related stimuli
may also be defined as triggers for generation of the alerts, warnings and/or notifications.
In some cases, the user interface 330 may be configured to generate such alerts, warnings
and/or notifications in response to the runtime or usage of the watering pump 120
being out of the recommended ranges, or in response to system components having schedule
or operational conflicts. Notifications may also be provided regarding general status,
current conditions and/or the like. The alerts, warnings and/or notifications may
be generated via light, sound, visual display, or other devices that may be connected
to or part of the operation manager 340. In some cases, the notifications may be provided
by text message or email. Even further, the user interface 330 may be configured to
enable the user to delegate operation of the system to second user for a predetermined
period of time. For example, if the user is going on vacation or will be out of town,
the second user may be given permission to control the system via the second user's
user interface.
[0056] In an example embodiment, the processing circuitry 310 may be configured to perform
data processing, control function execution and/or other processing and management
services according to an example embodiment of the present invention. As such, it
may be appreciated that the processing circuitry 310 may be configured to control
or be embodied as the operation manager 340. The operation manager 340 may be configured
to receive sensor information from the sensor equipment 30 and/or the watering equipment
20 and make decisions regarding information to be provided to the owner/operator and/or
instructions to be provided to the sensor equipment 30 and/or the watering equipment
20. The processing circuitry 310 may, in some cases, process the condition information
received from the sensor equipment 30 and compare the condition information to growing
condition parameters that are stored in the memory 314 for a given zone.
[0057] In an exemplary embodiment, the memory 314 may be configured to store information,
data, applications, instructions or the like for enabling the operation manager 340
to carry out various functions in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present
invention. For example, the memory 314 could be configured to buffer input data for
processing by the processor 312. Additionally or alternatively, the memory 314 could
be configured to store instructions for execution by the processor 312. As yet another
alternative, the memory 314 may include one or more databases that may store a variety
of data sets responsive to input from the sensor network. Among the contents of the
memory 314, applications may be stored for execution by the processor 312 in order
to carry out the functionality associated with each respective application. In some
cases, the applications may include applications for generation of control consoles
for providing options for control of the system. In some cases, the applications may
also or alternatively include applications for receiving information regarding component
activity/status, environmental parameters, operational or volume mode, device pairing,
and/or the like to allow the operation manager 340 to define responses to the information
(e.g., based on predefined programming or user input). The information/parameters
may be entered by the operator, received from deployed components, or may be extracted
or retrieved from databases or sources accessible via the internet based on entry
of an identity of the plant vegetation in a given zone.
[0058] The operation manager 340 may therefore, for example, provide interface mechanisms
for control of the operation of the watering pumps. FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram
of one example of operations that may be facilitated by the operation manager 340
in accordance with an example embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the watering pump may
initially be off, but the user terminal 50 may present a control console (or series
of control consoles) via which the operator can provide instructions to initiate the
operations of FIG. 5. An instruction may be provided at operation 400 to turn on the
watering pump 120 (i.e., via selecting manual mode). In response, a signal regarding
the volume mode may be received at operation 401. Once, the pump on and volume mode
signal is received, a determination may then be made at operation 402 as to whether
the robotic rover 15 is active in the area (or at all). If the robotic rover 15 is
active, a warning may be issued at the user interface 330 of the user terminal 50
at operation 404. The operator may then determine whether to allow operation of the
watering pump 120 or not at operation 406. If the operator decides not the operate
the watering pump 120, flow returns to the initial state. If the operator decides
to allow operation of the watering pump 120 anyway (e.g., overriding or disregarding
the warning), the operator may then be asked to enter a time duration for operation
of the watering pump 120 at operation 408. Of note, the operator may also have the
option to cancel to return to the initial state at this time instead of entering the
time duration.
[0059] Assuming the time duration is entered, an activation signal may be issued from the
user terminal 50 to the watering pump 120 to direct operation thereof at operation
410. The watering pump 120 may then remain in an operating state until the time duration
expires, at which time the watering pump 120 may turn off and flow returns to the
initial state. However, the operator may also insert instructions to manually turn
off the watering pump 120 at operation 412. A determination may then be made as to
whether the manual turning off is before or overlaps with a scheduled start time at
operation 414. If this manual turn off (off schedule) defines an end time that is
before the scheduled next start time, the schedule may be maintained at operation
416 and the watering pump 120 may turn off at operation 420 so that flow may return
to the initial state to be ready for operation again in accordance with the schedule.
However, if the manual shutoff corresponds with a scheduled start time, then the schedule
may be skipped at operation 418 and the watering pump 120 may turn off at operation
420 so that flow may return to the initial state to be ready for operation again when
the next scheduled operating time arrives. Meanwhile, from the initial state, if the
scheduled operating time is reached at operation 422, the watering pump 120 may operate
at operation 410 at the corresponding time, and responsive to time expiring at operation
424, the watering pump 120 may shut off. Likewise, from the initial state, if an operation
of the pump is triggered by sensor data at operation 426, the watering pump 120 may
operate at operation 410 and then shut off after a predetermined period of time expires
at operation 424 or when the condition clears at operation 428. Of note, the operator
may also manually operates or shuts off the watering pump 120 by operating a local
button or knob at the watering pump 120. If manual (local) operation is performed,
the operations described above may still be performed and the times for remaining
opening (or a next programmed opening) may again be governed by the schedule information
input into the operation manager 340.
[0060] In some cases, the watering pump 120 may include a limited user interface in the
form of a main button (or knob) provided on a front panel thereof, and a light assembly.
The light assembly may include three LEDs the LEDs may be capable of expressing red,
green and yellow colors in a solid or flashing manner. The LEDs may be useful for
providing status information associated with attempts to pair the watering pump with
another device, battery status, pump status, and/or the like.
[0061] In an example embodiment, the user interface 330 of the user terminal 50 may be employed
initially to provide control console options for adding devices to the first network
so that they are discovered by the gateway 40 and are recognized by the operation
manager 340. When the pairing mode is initiated (e.g., by battery insertion into a
deployed component, or by pressing the reset button, or by selection of an option
on the user terminal 50) for the watering pump, the watering pump may be discovered
by the gateway 40 and the gateway 40 may communicate the identity of the discovered
watering pump to the user operation manager 340 so that information indicative of
the discovered watering pump can be displayed at the user interface 330. A determination
is then made as to whether pairing is possible. The user interface 330 of the user
terminal 50 may also or alternatively provide an indication of detection of the watering
pump. If the gateway 40 is unable to find the watering pump, LED lighting output may
be generated to indicate as much. Once the gateway 40 has discovered and is able to
be paired with the watering pump, the LED lighting outputs during the pairing mode
may be converted to a signal strength indicator. Again similar indications could also
be provided at the user terminal 50.
[0062] FIG. 6, which includes FIGS. 6A-6C, illustrates some examples of interface screens
or control consoles that may be provided by the operation manager 340 in some embodiments.
FIG. 6A illustrates a basic start screen showing a home page 600 for the app. The
app may display a general watering pump data section 610, which may display runtime
and usage data associated with watering pump 120. In some cases, the app may also
display device status information 620, which may show each device of the first network
along with corresponding status information such as, for example, battery status,
operational modes, operational status, and/or the like. In an example embodiment,
an option may also be provided for adding new devices in box 630. In some cases, an
option may be provided for delegated operation of the system to a second user in box
640, as described above.
[0063] In some cases, by selecting the watering pump data section 610 (or an individual
sensor), various individual or collective screens showing the status of each sensor
may be provided. FIG. 6B illustrates an example pump status screen 650 that may be
accessed responsive to selecting the watering pump data section 610. In some embodiments,
the pump status screen 650 may include a current pump data section 660 that may display
current pump data. A historical pump data section 670 may also be provided to show
past data over a given period of time (that may be user selectable). A settings adjustment
option 680 may also be provided to allow the operator to select various pump settings.
The pump settings may relate to selecting operational or volume modes, pairing activity,
signal strength, battery levels, identifying plant types nearby, identifying soil
type and/or the like.
[0064] FIG. 6C illustrates an example device status screen 700 that may be accessed responsive
to selecting the adjust settings section 680. In some embodiments, the user may be
able to select what zone of the parcel the user wishes to adjust the watering settings
at section 710. Once the appropriate zone is selected, the user may be able to select
the operational and volume modes that the watering pump 120 is to operate in at sections
720 and 730, respectively. For example, if the user selects intelligent mode in section
720, the user may then be prompted to select the appropriate volume mode from section
730. Even after selecting the intelligent operational mode in section 720, the user
may then select either or both of the scheduled or manual modes in connection with
the same zone if the user desires. At section 740, the user may select the reset button
in order to clear all currently stored operational and volume mode settings.
[0065] The present application may therefore be practised using the system of apparatuses
of the appended claims.
1. A system (10) of apparatuses comprising:
sensor equipment (30) including one or more sensors (140, 142) disposed on a parcel
of land;
watering equipment (20) disposed on the parcel and configured to selectively apply
water to the parcel;
a user terminal (50); and
a gateway (40) configured to communicate with the sensor equipment (30), the watering
equipment (20), and the user terminal (50),
whereby the watering equipment (20) includes a watering pump (120), the watering pump
(120) being operably coupled to a water source (100) and a water line (110) to alternately
couple the water source (100) to and isolate the water source (100) from the water
line (110), and the watering pump (120) incorporates communication circuitry (160)
including processing circuitry (201) for controlling the watering pump (120) and an
antenna for enabling the water pump (120) to communicate with the gateway (40),
whereby the processing circuitry (201) is configured to:
determine an operational mode of the watering pump (120); and
direct the watering pump (120) to operate in accordance with the operational mode,
characterized in that
the watering pump (120) comprises memory (203) to locally store default settings or
the last received instructions,
and the processing circuitry (201) is further configured to detect a loss of connectivity
to the gateway (40) or the sensor (140, 142),
whereby the processing circuitry (201) is further configured to determine, based on
the first instructions received from the gateway (40), a volume mode of the watering
pump (120),
whereby in response to the detection of the loss of connectivity, the processing circuitry
(201) employs a last determined operational mode and volume mode or overrides the
last received instructions from a user regarding the selected operational or volume
mode and switches to a default setting.
2. The system (10) of claim 1, wherein switch to a default setting only occurs if the
loss of connectivity exceeds a predetermined time interval.
3. The system (10) of claim 2, wherein the default setting is an intelligent operational
mode or an automatic volume mode.
4. The system (10) of any of the preceding claims, wherein the gateway (40) interfaces
between a first network comprising at least the watering equipment (20) and the sensor
equipment (30) and a second network via which a first user is enabled to wirelessly
communicate with the gateway (40) via the user terminal (50).
5. The system of (10) of any of the preceding claims, wherein the operational mode of
the watering pump (120) comprises one of the intelligent mode, a scheduled mode, or
a manual mode.
6. The system (10) of claim 5, wherein in the intelligent mode, the watering pump (120)
operates in response to received sensor data falling within or exceeding a predefined
range or threshold.
7. The system (10) of claim 5 when dependent on claim 4, wherein in the scheduled mode,
the watering pump (120) operates in response to a watering schedule programmed by
the first user.
8. The system (10) of claim 5, wherein the user terminal (50) includes an interface (630),
and, wherein in the manual mode, the watering pump (120) operates in response to a
user selection on the interface (630) that directs the immediate operation of the
watering pump (120).
9. The system (10) of any of the preceding claims, wherein the volume mode of the watering
pump (120) comprises at least one of a micro drip mode, a small amount mode, a conservation
mode, the automatic mode, or a garden mode.
10. The system (10) of any of the preceding claims, wherein the processing circuitry (201)
is further configured to determine a recommended maintenance interval of the watering
pump (120).
11. The system (10) of claim 10 when dependent on claim 4, wherein the maintenance interval
is based on a time interval or water volume inputted by the first user.
12. The system (10) of any of the preceding claims, wherein the user terminal (50) includes
an interface (630) displaying the status of the watering pump (120).
13. The system (10) of any of the preceding claims, wherein the user terminal (50) is
configured to provide warnings to the operator based on pump failure, battery status,
schedule conflicts, and weather issues.
14. The system (10) of claim 4, wherein the user terminal (50) includes an interface (630)
for delegating operation of the system to a second user selected by the first user.
15. A watering pump (120) for the system (10) of apparatuses of claims 1-14.
1. System (10) aus Vorrichtungen, umfassend:
Sensorvorrichtung (30) mit einem oder mehreren Sensoren (140, 142), die auf einem
Stück Land angeordnet sind;
Bewässerungsvorrichtung (20), die auf dem Stück angeordnet und ausgelegt ist, um selektiv
Wasser auf das Stück aufzubringen;
ein Benutzerendgerät (50); und
ein Gateway (40), das ausgelegt ist, um mit der Sensorvorrichtung (30), der Bewässerungsvorrichtung
(20) und dem Benutzerendgerät (50) zu kommunizieren,
wobei die Bewässerungsvorrichtung (20) eine Bewässerungspumpe (120) umfasst, die Bewässerungspumpe
(120) funktionsfähig mit einer Wasserquelle (100) und einer Wasserleitung (110) verbunden
ist um die Wasserquelle (100) abwechselnd mit der Wasserleitung (100) zu verbinden
und die Wasserquelle (100) von der Wasserleitung (110) zu isolieren, und die Bewässerungspumpe
(120) eine Kommunikationsschaltung (160) einschließt, die eine Verarbeitungsschaltung
(201) zum Steuern der Bewässerungspumpe (120) und eine Antenne zum Ermöglichen der
Kommunikation der Wasserpumpe (120) mit dem Gateway (40) umfasst, und die Bewässerungspumpe
(120) eine Kommunikationsschaltung (160) einschließt, die eine Verarbeitungsschaltung
(201) zum Steuern der Bewässerungspumpe (120) und eine Antenne zum Ermöglichen der
Kommunikation der Wasserpumpe (120) mit dem Gateway (40) umfasst,
wobei die Verarbeitungsschaltung (201) ausgelegt ist, zum:
Bestimmen eines Betriebsmodus der Bewässerungspumpe (120); und
Ausrichten der Bewässerungspumpe (120) zum Betreiben entsprechend der Betriebsart,
dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass
die Bewässerungspumpe (120) einen Speicher (203) zum lokalen Speichern von Standardeinstellungen
oder der zuletzt empfangenen Anweisungen umfasst,
und die Verarbeitungsschaltung (201) ferner ausgelegt ist, um einen Verlust der Konnektivität
zu dem Gateway (40) oder dem Sensor (140, 142) zu erfassen,
wobei die Verarbeitungsschaltung (201) ferner ausgelegt ist, um basierend auf den
ersten von dem Gateway (40) empfangenen Anweisungen einen Volumenmodus der Bewässerungspumpe
(120) zu bestimmen,
wobei als Antwort auf das Erfassen des Verlustes der Konnektivität die Verarbeitungsschaltung
(201) einen zuletzt bestimmten Betriebsmodus und Volumenmodus verwendet oder die zuletzt
empfangenen Anweisungen eines Benutzers bezüglich des ausgewählten Betriebs- oder
Volumenmodus überschreibt und zu einer Standardeinstellung wechselt.
2. System (10) nach Anspruch 1, wobei das Umschalten auf eine Standardeinstellung nur
dann erfolgt, wenn der Verlust der Konnektivität ein vorgegebenes Zeitintervall überschreitet.
3. System (10) nach Anspruch 2, wobei die Standardeinstellung ein intelligenter Betriebsmodus
oder ein automatischer Volumenmodus ist.
4. System (10) nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche, wobei das Gateway (40) eine Schnittstelle
zwischen einem ersten Netzwerk, das mindestens die Bewässerungsvorrichtung (20) und
die Sensorvorrichtung (30) umfasst, und einem zweiten Netzwerk bildet, über das einem
ersten Benutzer ermöglicht wird, drahtlos mit dem Gateway (40) über das Benutzerendgerät
(50) zu kommunizieren.
5. System (10) nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche, wobei der Betriebsmodus der Bewässerungspumpe
(120) einen intelligenten Modus, einen geplanten Modus oder einen manuellen Modus
umfasst.
6. System (10) nach Anspruch 5, wobei die Bewässerungspumpe (120) im intelligenten Modus
als Antwort auf empfangene Sensordaten, die innerhalb oder außerhalb eines vorbestimmten
Bereichs oder Schwellenwerts liegen, arbeitet.
7. System (10) nach Anspruch 5, wenn von Anspruch 4 abhängig, wobei die Bewässerungspumpe
(120) im geplanten Modus als Antwort auf einen vom ersten Benutzer programmierten
Bewässerungsplan arbeitet.
8. System (10) nach Anspruch 5, wobei das Benutzerendgerät (50) eine Schnittstelle (630)
umfasst, und wobei die Bewässerungspumpe (120) im manuellen Modus als Antwort auf
eine Benutzerauswahl über die Schnittstelle (630), die den sofortigen Betrieb der
Bewässerungspumpe (120) steuert, arbeitet.
9. System (10) nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche, wobei der Volumenmodus der Bewässerungspumpe
(120) mindestens einen Mikrotropfmodus, einen Kleinmengenmodus, einen Konservierungsmodus,
den Automatikmodus oder einen Gartenmodus umfasst.
10. System (10) nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche, wobei die Verarbeitungsschaltung
(201) ferner ausgelegt ist, um ein empfohlenes Wartungsintervall der Bewässerungspumpe
(120) zu bestimmen.
11. System (10) nach Anspruch 10, wenn von Anspruch 4 abhängig, wobei das Wartungsintervall
auf einem vom ersten Benutzer eingegebenen Zeitintervall oder Wasservolumen basiert.
12. System (10) nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche, wobei das Benutzerendgerät (50)
eine Schnittstelle (630) umfasst, die den Status der Bewässerungspumpe (120) anzeigt.
13. System (10) nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche, wobei das Benutzerendgerät (50)
ausgelegt ist, um dem Bediener Warnungen basierend auf Pumpenausfall, Batteriestatus,
Zeitplankonflikten und Wetterproblemen bereitzustellen.
14. System (10) nach Anspruch 4, wobei das Benutzerendgerät (50) eine Schnittstelle (630)
zum Delegieren des Betriebs des Systems an einen zweiten Benutzer umfasst, der von
dem ersten Benutzer ausgewählt wurde.
15. Bewässerungspumpe (120) für das System (10) aus Vorrichtungen nach Anspruch 1 -14.
1. Système (10) d'appareils comprenant :
un équipement de détection (30) comprenant un ou plusieurs capteurs (140, 142), disposé
sur une parcelle de terrain ;
un équipement d'arrosage (20) disposé sur la parcelle et configuré pour appliquer
de façon sélective de l'eau sur la parcelle ;
un terminal utilisateur (50) ; et
une passerelle (40) configurée pour communiquer avec l'équipement de détection (30),
l'équipement d'arrosage (20) et le terminal utilisateur (50),
dans lequel l'équipement d'arrosage (20) comprend une pompe d'arrosage (120), la pompe
d'arrosage (120) étant couplée de façon opérationnelle à une source d'eau (100) et
à une conduite d'eau (110) pour coupler par alternance la source d'eau (100) avec,
et isoler la source d'eau (100) de la conduite d'eau (110), et la pompe d'arrosage
(120) comprend un circuit de communication (160) comprenant un circuit de traitement
(201) destiné à commander la pompe d'arrosage (120) et une antenne permettant à la
pompe d'arrosage (120) de communiquer avec la passerelle (40),
dans lequel le circuit de traitement (201) est configuré pour :
déterminer un mode de fonctionnement de la pompe d'arrosage (120) ; et
diriger la pompe d'arrosage (120) pour fonctionner selon le mode de fonctionnement,
caractérisé en ce que
la pompe d'arrosage (120) comprend une mémoire (203) pour stocker localement les réglages
par défaut ou les dernières instructions reçues,
et le circuit de traitement (201) est en outre configuré pour détecter une perte de
connectivité avec la passerelle (40) ou le capteur (140, 142),
dans lequel le circuit de traitement (201) est en outre configuré pour déterminer,
sur la base des premières instructions reçues de la passerelle (40), un mode de volume
de la pompe d'arrosage (120),
dans lequel, en réponse à la détection de la perte de connectivité, le circuit de
traitement (201) utilise un mode de fonctionnement et un mode de volume déterminés
en dernier lieu, ou remplace les dernières instructions reçues d'un utilisateur, concernant
le mode de fonctionnement ou de volume sélectionné et passe à un réglage par défaut.
2. Système (10) selon la revendication 1, dans lequel le passage à un réglage par défaut
ne se produit que si la perte de connectivité dépasse un intervalle de temps prédéterminé.
3. Système (10) selon la revendication 2, dans lequel le réglage par défaut est un mode
de fonctionnement intelligent ou un mode de volume automatique.
4. Système (10) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans lequel la
passerelle (40) présente une interface entre un premier réseau comprenant au moins
l'équipement d'arrosage (20) et l'équipement de détection (30) et un second réseau
à travers lequel un premier utilisateur peut communiquer sans fil avec la passerelle
(40) via le terminal utilisateur (50).
5. Système selon (10) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans lequel
le mode de fonctionnement de la pompe d'arrosage (120) comprend un parmi le mode intelligent,
un mode programmé ou un mode manuel.
6. Système (10) selon la revendication 5, dans lequel au mode intelligent, la pompe d'arrosage
(120) fonctionne en réponse aux données de capteur reçues, incluses dans, ou dépassant
une plage ou un seuil prédéfini.
7. Système (10) selon la revendication 5 lorsqu'elle dépend de la revendication 4, dans
lequel au mode programmé, la pompe d'arrosage (120) fonctionne en réponse à un programme
d'arrosage programmé par le premier utilisateur.
8. Système (10) selon la revendication 5, dans lequel le terminal utilisateur (50) comprend
une interface (630) et, dans lequel au mode manuel, la pompe d'arrosage (120) fonctionne
en réponse à une sélection d'utilisateur sur l'interface (630) qui dirige le fonctionnement
immédiat de la pompe d'arrosage (120).
9. Système (10) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans lequel le
mode de volume de la pompe d'arrosage (120) comprend au moins un parmi un mode microgoutte,
un mode petite quantité, un mode conservation, le mode automatique ou un mode jardin.
10. Système (10) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans lequel le
circuit de traitement (201) est en outre configuré pour déterminer un intervalle de
maintenance recommandé de la pompe d'arrosage (120).
11. Système (10) selon la revendication 10 lorsqu'elle dépend de la revendication 4, dans
lequel l'intervalle de maintenance est basé sur un intervalle de temps ou un volume
d'eau entré par le premier utilisateur.
12. Système (10) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans lequel le
terminal utilisateur (50) comprend une interface (630) affichant l'état de la pompe
d'arrosage (120).
13. Système (10) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans lequel le
terminal utilisateur (50) est configuré pour avertir l'opérateur en cas de défaillance
de la pompe, sur l'état de la batterie, en cas de conflits de programmation et en
cas de problèmes météorologiques.
14. Système (10) selon la revendication 4, dans lequel le terminal utilisateur (50) comprend
une interface (630) pour déléguer le fonctionnement du système à un second utilisateur
sélectionné par le premier utilisateur.
15. Pompe d'arrosage (120) du système (10) d'appareils selon les revendications 1-14.